C. P. Cavafy: 162 Years Since His Birth in 120 Minutes

On April 29, 2025, at 12:00 p.m., we are transported to the universe of C. P. Cavafy through two Onassis Foundation commissions exploring the poet’s enduring influence on contemporary artists. Stories of love, loss, and desire place Cavafy in the present and the future in the documentary “Eternal Desires: The World of C. P. Cavafy, from Alexandria to New York,” directed by Christos Sarris. The cinematic power of Cavafy’s language is also revealed through a series of short films in the context of the “Visual Cavafy” section.

Eternal Desires: The World of C. P. Cavafy, from Alexandria to New York

Beyond borders and eras, the poetry of C. P. Cavafy remains ever relevant. The documentary “Eternal Desires: The World of C. P. Cavafy, from Alexandria to New York,” produced by Onassis Culture and directed by Christos Sarris, was first presented on the digital platform All Arts of the American network PBS earlier in April 2025. Inspired by the Onassis Foundation’s “Archive of Desire” festival in New York in April and May 2023, the film explores the poet’s timelessness, revealing Cavafy’s political, sensual, and poetic power through an interdisciplinary kaleidoscope of art.

Watch the full documentary

Video

Eternal Desires: The World of C. P. Cavafy, from Alexandria to New York

Video

Eternal Desires: The World of C. P. Cavafy, from Alexandria to New York

Visual Cavafy on the Onassis Channel on YouTube

C. P. Cavafy continues to speak to us individually, sometimes in a whisper, sometimes in a roar. As part of the “Visual Cavafy” section, a series of short films explores the cinematic power of C. P. Cavafy’s language, adding an empowering dimension to the multidisciplinary festival “Archive of Desire” held in New York in April and May 2023. These visual ‘poems,’ featuring an extraordinary range of creative minds, reflect the vitality and power of Cavafy’s language.